Rescue on the Beach
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: The Dursleys grudgingly take nine-year-old Harry with them to Mallorca for their summer holiday, only to leave him alone on the beach. Just a little holiday drabble, only meant for entertainment, not a terrific plot... AU, neglect!Dursleys, sick!Harry


**Rescue on the Beach**

Nine-year-old Harry was sitting in his cupboard, listening to his relatives, who were talking in the kitchen in voices that were becoming fairly loud.

"Take the freak to an orphanage or elsewhere; I don't care, but we're not going to deal with his freakishness in Mallorca," Vernon roared, obviously getting enraged.

"Don't talk in that voice to me, Vernon; it's not my fault Mrs. Figg had an accident and is in hospital," Petunia replied in an equally upset voice. "We only have to buy the flight ticket for him; in the hotel, they won't even notice that he's there, and he should know that he has to stay out of our way."

Suddenly, Dudley heavily stepped down the stairs, causing as much dust to fall into Harry's cupboard as he could, and whined, "Mum, I need a second suitcase, I can't fit everything into one."

"All right, sweetie, let me have a look. I'll do the packing for you," Petunia cooed, finishing her conversation with Vernon for the moment.

'_I wonder what's going to happen. I wouldn't mind going somewhere, but they're going to hate me even more, if they have to spend the holidays with me_,' Harry mused as he gently placed his best and only friend, a large, friendly spider, back to its favourite sleeping place, before he went to bed as well.

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In the morning, Petunia hammered at his door very early. "Get up, we're leaving NOW!"

Harry hurriedly scrambled out of his bed, realising that the Dursleys were indeed just leaving the house with a number of large suitcases and bags. He felt himself being pushed into the car, where he came to sit between several bags.

Harry decided to remain quiet, knowing that his relatives were totally annoyed that they had to take him with them anyway. After an hour's drive, they arrived at what had to be the airport. Harry had never been to such a place, but he had heard other children at school talk about it. He watched the huge planes outside with interest, only absentmindedly registering that his uncle stopped at a counter and bought a ticket for him.

"No, not first class; the cheapest ticket you have is enough for him," he heard Vernon shout at the woman behind the counter, handing the paper she had been showing him back.

Not noticing the strange look the woman gave Vernon, Harry trailed behind the Dursleys, obediently pushing two of their four suitcases. '_I wonder if they have packed anything for me_,' Harry thought; however, he knew his relatives too well to get his hopes up. '_One of them is probably full with Dudley's toys_,' he realised as they approached the check in counter, where Harry watched in amazement that the suitcases were lifted onto a baggage conveyer and made their way out of the room.

Harry followed the Dursleys through the airport, looking around in absolute amazement, and absently stepped into a coffee shop behind his relatives, flinching back startled when Vernon suddenly gripped his arm and hissed, "Wait outside. You'll get something to eat on the plane, you ungrateful freak."

Not feeling surprised at all, Harry decided to watch the planes through a nearby window, until the Dursleys returned nearly an hour later. He once more trailed behind Petunia, carrying his relatives' hand luggage to a strange machine that seemed to scan all their luggage, before they had to go through a strange frame like a door frame. Nothing happened when his relatives walked through the frame, but just when Harry stepped through, the thing decided to let out a few annoying beeps.

"Of course our nephew," Vernon roared angrily. "Who knows what he has stolen from Dudley and is keeping it in his pockets."

"I didn't steal anything," Harry replied in a small voice, flinching back badly when a woman approached him with a strange stick-like thing in her hands. "I promise I'll be good. I didn't take anything," Harry began to plead, not realising that the woman's expression was very soft and pitiful.

"It's all right, sweetie. I won't hurt you. Just stand still for a moment, so I can check you out," the woman replied gently and moved the strange device all around his body, before she threw him a smile and said, "All right, you may go."

The Dursleys moved on to a room just next to the roll field, where dozens of planes were parking, not after buying a bag full of sweets and drinks for Dudley of course. They had to wait for what seemed to be an awfully long time to Harry, who was watching Dudley eat his mars bars with a growing feeling of hunger. Finally, an airplane arrived just in front of the window.

"Is that ours?" Dudley asked excitedly, pushing Harry aside. Harry scrambled up from the floor and watched in amazement as people left the plane through a connecting corridor, while the luggage was been taken out on the other side of the machine, before the preparations for the new flight took place right next to the plane.

Finally, a woman like the one Dudley had earlier pointed out as a stewardess stood in front of the connecting corridor and said, "Welcome to our flight to Mallorca. The machine is ready for boarding now. First class passengers first, please."

Petunia turned to Harry, handing him his boarding ticket. "We have to board now. You go together with everyone else."

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, suddenly feeling very lonely in the crowd of people that were beginning to queue around him as his relatives vanished through the barrier.

Finally, Harry found himself inside the plane on a seat between an old man that was sitting next to the window and a young woman, who apparently belonged to a larger group of young people. He became a little afraid when the plane's engines suddenly grew louder and the plane began to speed up, but all of a sudden he noticed that they had taken off and looked through the small window in excitement.

'_We're flying_,' Harry mused in amazement, feeling very happy until all of a sudden his ears began to hurt terribly. '_Oh right, Aunt Petunia told Dudley to chew something during takeoff and landing to prevent his ears from becoming sore_,' he remembered as he tried to ignore the pain. However, by the time they went off the plane at Mallorca, not only his ears but also his head was hurt terribly. Harry once more helped Vernon carry the luggage to a bus, before they spent the next ninety minutes in the bus. '_I don't like flying_,' Harry thought, '_on the other hand, it was wonderful, except that it made my ears sore_.'

Harry was dead on his feet and still terribly sore when they finally reached the hotel room. It was a small room with two larger and one small bed, a desk, a chair, a small bathroom and a balcony. It also had air-condition, which Dudley switched on immediately. '_Where am I going to sleep?_' Harry wondered, but Petunia quickly solved the problem for him.

Throwing a blanket onto the floor in front of the desk, she said, "You're going to sleep here. Make yourself comfortable. We're going to eat dinner. I'll bring something back for you."

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry replied obediently, remembering the absolutely delicious bread roll, which he had received on the flight, as he lay down on the blanket. '_It was so soft and had butter, cream cheese with herbs and cheese; I've never eaten anything so delicious_,' he thought.

Petunia brought a plain bread roll and an apple for him when the Dursleys returned to the room several hours later, but Harry was too tired and too sore to eat anything. He wanted to sleep badly; however, his sleeping space was just in front of the air condition, and Harry didn't only feel sore but was shivering from the cold. Knowing that Vernon might throw him out of the window if he went against Dudley and changed the settings of the air condition that Dudley had made, he tried to sleep, wrapping himself in the blanket as well as possible.

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In the morning, the Dursleys went to the dining room for breakfast, while Harry was ordered to remain in the room. This time, Petunia brought him a banana, pointing out that it was the last time she brought anything for him if he didn't eat it.

Harry gratefully munched the banana in spite of having no appetite what so ever. His ears and head still hurt a lot, his throat was slightly scratchy, probably from spending the night in front of the air condition, and he felt hot and cold at the same time. He quietly followed the Dursleys to the nearby beach, where Vernon instructed him to stay where he was, promising to come and collect him on the way back in the evening.

Harry spent the next few hours sitting on the beach, watching the people around him play beach ball and swim in the sea. Unfortunately, he couldn't swim, because Aunt Petunia had only sent Dudley to the swimming course, and he felt too unwell to feel the urge of going into the water anyway.

After a few hours, he saw that his arms and legs had become very red. His skin felt as if it was on fire in spite of the small shivers that were running through his body.

'_The sun hurts my skin_,' he mused. '_Perhaps I can find a spot in the shadow_.' He looked around, but there was nothing but the open sea and the infinite beach. Behind him was a wall, only interrupted by the small path, from which they had accessed the beach. However, suddenly, he noticed a door in the wall. '_I wonder where that leads_,' he thought as he scrambled to his feet and approached the door, carefully pressing the handle down.

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Harry carefully opened the door, carefully glancing behind it, only to realise that the beach continued as far as he could see. However, it felt somehow different. The air seemed cooler, and he could see palm trees that allowed people to sit in their shadows on the beach. He hesitantly stepped through the door. The sunrays weren't as strong as they had been before, and Harry let himself sink into the sand to observe his surroundings.

The people on the beach were clothed strangely. They were wearing long robes over their swimming suits, and Harry felt slightly out of place in his hand-me-downs. He squirmed against the sun to observe a few people, who were playing beach ball or whatever they were playing. '_They are flying_,' he suddenly realised, '_on broomsticks_.'

'_No, people don't fly on broomsticks; I must be delirious,_' he thought, moving a few metres further on the beach to sit in the shadow of a huge palm tree.

Harry was so engrossed in observing his strange surroundings that he didn't notice the three women, who were sitting a few metres to his left, watching him closely.

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The three witches were sitting under the same, large tree, talking animatedly, while they were resting in the shadow after playing a long game of Wave Quidditch. Wave Quidditch was similar to normal Quidditch; however, it was played above the sea, and the Snitch used to hide between the waves. They observed a small boy hesitantly entering the Mallorca Magical Resort from one of the edges leading to the Muggle beach.

"If you ask me, the small one doesn't even know he is in the magical resort," one of them smirked, noticing the disbelief on the boy's face as he watched a group of young witches and wizards play Wave Quidditch.

"He must be a wizard though; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter the resort at all," her friend stated the obvious as she arranged her hair into a tight bun.

"The child has bad sunburn; I wonder where his parents are. He is wearing much too warm clothes for the beach anyway."

"I'll go and speak with him," the first witch said, jumping up from the sand in determination.

"Rolanda, be careful not to frighten the child; he seems scared," Minerva instructed her firmly, causing their friend Poppy to agree completely.

"Exactly, especially as he probably is in a lot of pain, and even apart from his sunburn the little one looks ill."

"Yes, I'll be careful. Don't make such a fuss. I'm the flying instructor and not a first year," Rolanda replied in annoyance and stepped over to the child, sitting in the sand next to him.

"Hello, do you like Quidditch? I'm Rolanda by the way," she addressed the boy in a soft voice, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Quidditch?" Harry queried, throwing the kind woman a questioning look.

"The game they're playing over there. That's Wave Quidditch. It's one version of Quidditch, the most common sport in the magical world," Rolanda explained helpfully.

"M...magic?" Harry stammered, terrified.

"Of course; you know that you're in a magical resort here, don't you?"

"There is nothing like magic," Harry whispered, slightly backing up in fright. '_Maybe the nice lady is a freak too_,' he thought, throwing Rolanda a hopeful look.

"Of course there is magic, and you're a wizard just like I am a witch," Rolanda replied softly, causing Harry to look at her in disbelief.

"That can't be true, Madam. I'm only Harry, just Harry, and I can't be a wizard," Harry said hoarsely. '_I'm a freak though_,' he thought, shyly averting his eyes to the sand.

"Harry, you wouldn't have been able to enter this resort if you weren't a wizard," Rolanda replied softly. "You seem to be badly sunburned though. Are you feeling well? Where are your parents by the way?"

Harry hesitantly told the nice lady about the Dursleys and being on the beach, where the sun was burning him, all day long.

"Oh my poor boy," Rolanda said gently, trying to keep the anger at the child's relatives to herself. "Let me tell you something. Do you see my two friends over there?" Pointing to Minerva and Poppy, she explained, "one of them is a Mediwitch, and she can make you feel much better in the blink of an eye. Do you think you can come with me to where my friends are sitting?"

"Yeah," Harry replied miserably. Of course he knew that he shouldn't go with a stranger; the teachers at school had told him and his classmates as much. However, he was feeling so awful, and the Dursleys had left him all on his own, and he just didn't care anymore. He wearily followed Rolanda, who motioned him to sit down between Poppy and herself, before she introduced him to her friends and asked Poppy to check on him.

Harry flinched back badly when the Mediwitch waved her wand over him, muttering something to herself.

"It's all right, sweetie. Poppy won't hurt you," Rolanda said calmingly, throwing him an encouraging smile.

"He is not only sunburned; he has a bad ear infection and a cold," Poppy spoke up, frowning as she pointed her wand at Harry's head to take his temperature.

"Harry, what's your last name?" the stern looking lady that was sitting on Poppy's other side suddenly queried, giving him a sharp look.

Harry stared at the three witches in disbelief when they let out a simultaneous gasp as he uttered his name. "Is something strange with my name?" he croaked, glancing around, frightened.

"Yes Harry. You probably don't remember me, because you were a baby at that time, but I often baby-sat you, and you always called me 'Ganny.' I knew your parents very well. They were both students of mine and I was especially close to your mother."

Harry looked at the elder lady in awe. "You knew my parents?" he finally asked, feeling absolutely delighted.

"We all knew your parents well, because we're all teaching at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," Rolanda explained gently. "Your father was a brilliant Quidditch player."

"However, I can't believe that your aunt, who is responsible for your well-being, leaves you alone on the beach, especially in the state you are," Poppy added, sounding very angry. "Harry, did they say when they were going to collect you?"

"Sometime in the evening I suppose," Harry replied, shrugging.

"In that case I'd like you to accompany me to our room for a while," Poppy said in a much softer voice. "I want you to take some potions and to lie down for a moment, until you feel better. Are you hungry, sweetie?"

"No," Harry said, feeling too miserable to even think about eating anything.

"Afterwards, we'll accompany you and have a word with your relatives," Minerva promised, causing Harry to panic.

"No, please don't tell them that I complained about anything," he croaked. "Otherwise, Uncle Vernon will be so angry."

"Don't worry, child. We'll teach him a lesson if he does anything to you," Rolanda said firmly, causing Harry to relax, feeling very much reassured.

Harry slowly trailed behind the three ladies into the nearby house and into a round room with several comfortable sofas and chairs. He stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed that the walls were completely made of windows that showed the view onto the beach and the ocean.

"These are magical windows, sweetie," Rolanda informed him, before she motioned him to lie down on a nearby sofa that changed into a bed in front of Harry's eyes.

"Is that...?" Harry looked at Minerva, who just tucked her wand into her robes, in amazement.

"That's magic, Harry," Minerva replied gently as she once more pulled her wand and transfigured his clothes into very light yellow pyjamas with green elephants that were playing and splashing water through their noses from time to time, causing Harry to chuckle.

Before he could thank the kind lady, however, Poppy stepped out of her room and approached his side. Only now, Harry realised that several doors, which were hardly recognisable in the window surrounding the room, led to more rooms. The Mediwitch gently helped him to sit up and pressed a phial against his lips.

"Don't dwell on the taste, Harry, just gulp it down quickly," she said softly. "You'll feel better immediately."

As soon as Harry had obediently taken the three potions, he felt the pain in his ears and his head recede. Even his skin didn't hurt as much as before, and his whole body seemed to have cooled down some. He flinched back badly as a cold hand found its way onto his forehead, causing Poppy to throw him a piercing look.

"You're still very warm," she said softly. "Are you feeling better, little one?"

"Yes, much better, thank you," Harry replied gratefully, shyly smiling back at the kind lady.

"Then try to sleep for a while. We'll wake you up in time to go back to meet your relatives," Poppy promised, noticing that the child's eyes were already drooping.

"All right," Harry mumbled, suddenly feeling very tired. Seconds later, the potions took full effect and he drifted off to sleep.

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When Harry's mind turned back to awareness, Rolanda was gently shaking his shoulder. "Now sweetie, it's time to go and meet your relatives," she said softly, causing Harry to groan inwardly.

'_If I could only stay here. These people are so kind, and they seem to be freaks like me. Never before has anyone been so nice to me_.' He barely registered that Poppy once more checked on him and told him she would give his aunt a bag with potions for him, before he followed the three witches out onto the beach and through the door back to the Muggle world. To his amazement, Minerva conjured a huge parasol, so that they could sit in the shadow while they waited for the Dursleys to come and pick Harry up.

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Harry listened in awe as the three witches told him about Hogwarts, magic, his parents and Quidditch. Only when his stomach let out a large grumble, he realised that it was already getting dark.

"Harry, when was the last time you ate a proper meal?" Poppy queried, giving him a piercing look that caused him to reply truthfully.

"The day before yesterday?" Minerva repeated in disbelief. "Harry, do think your relatives are still going to come, or you know where the hotel is you're staying in?"

Harry shook his head. "They'll be glad to get rid of me this way," he mumbled hoarsely, causing Rolanda to pull him in a bear hug.

"I can't believe that the Dursleys abandon him like this," Minerva said angrily.

"But it fits well into the image I got from them, considering the way they treat and obviously abuse Harry," Poppy replied firmly. "We should take him away from them and the sooner the better."

"Harry, do you want to stay with us for the time being? We can take you back to Scotland with us next week, and then we'll contact your relatives," Rolanda suggested, gently moving an errand strand of hair from Harry's cheek.

"I'd like that," Harry said softly, and a small smile began to play on his lips as he walked next to Rolanda back into the magical resort. '_I can't believe it. They're going to take me with them, and I'm going to attend their school in a bit more than a year. I'm the happiest boy of the world_.'

The three witches led Harry to a huge dining room, and Rolanda pulled him to a buffet that held more different kinds of food than Harry could remember to have ever seen before. Seeing that Harry made no move to take anything on the plate she had pressed into his hands, Rolanda laid a little of everything on his plate, before she guided him to a small table that Minerva and Poppy had occupied.

"I'm not allowed to sit at the table," Harry said in a hardly audible voice, throwing Rolanda an anxious look.

"Harry, you are allowed to sit here with us and eat your dinner," Rolanda instructed him firmly, placing a glass with pumpkin juice next to his plate.

"Thank you," Harry replied and greedily gulped the cool liquid down, before he obediently ate a little bit from his dinner, unaware of the concerned looks the three witches exchanged at the small amount of food he was able to stomach after hardly eating anything for two days.

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Back in the holiday apartment, Minerva conjured a second bed in Rolanda's bedroom, since Harry seemed to have taken a liking to the humorous witch. While the sick and completely exhausted boy drifted off to sleep within seconds, Poppy spelled several potions into his system, and Minerva conjured a small pile of clothes and other items he would need during the remaining week of their holidays.

Two days later, Harry was back to full health, and Rolanda began to teach him swimming and flying, noticing very soon that Harry was a very adept flyer. Harry felt better and happier than he had felt ever before in his life, and he became quickly used to living together with the three kind witches that looked after him, cared for him and allowed him to be just himself.

However, much too soon the week was over, and Harry quietly began to worry what was going to happen when they were back from the holidays. '_I hope my ears won't hurt again when we are on the plane_,' he mused on the day when they were going to leave. However, he was positively surprised when Rolanda held out an inflatable crocodile and told him to hold on tightly. After sensing a strange pull behind his navel and feeling slightly dizzy, he arrived next to the others in what seemed to be a living room that was arranged around a huge fireplace.

"What are we going to do now?" Rolanda queried, taking a seat on one of the comfortable looking sofas. "Do you want to go back to your relatives, or would you like to stay with me?" she asked bluntly, causing Harry to throw her a delighted look.

"With you," he mumbled hesitantly, allowing Rolanda to pull him onto her lap.

"You could adopt him and change his name to Harrison, for example," Minerva suggested thoughtfully. "We need to hide him from Albus; otherwise, he'll send Harry back to the Dursleys right away."

"Well, I could tell everyone that he was my nephew and I had to take him in when his parents died. My brother actually died a few weeks ago, but he didn't have any children. Albus doesn't know that though."

"We should ask Severus for a blood adoption potion, and maybe he'll be able to brew something to hide Harry's scar as well."

"You don't think Severus would be willing to do that for James' son?" Minerva blurted out, giving her best friend a look of disbelief.

"If we tell him that Harry has been abused by his relatives, Severus will fully cooperate. No one understands better what it means to be abused at home than Severus. He will be a very valuable ally," Poppy replied firmly, causing Rolanda to approach the fireplace and call the Potions Master.

After hearing the whole story and seeing the small boy anxiously sitting next to Rolanda on the sofa, Severus let out a long sigh. "I never told anyone about the matter, but I made a promise to Lily a few days before she died. She made me swear a wizard's oath to keep the boy safe. I believe that it's a good idea if Rolanda takes him in. Minerva would be too obvious, but Albus would never suspect Rolanda. It'll take me two hours to brew the adoption potion, and I'll think about something to hide his scar or make it disappear. In the meantime, we need to use concealment charms. Maybe if the four of us cast a charm together, Albus won't be able to look behind it."

"Thank you so much, Severus," Rolanda said gratefully. "Would it be all right for you if I named you his godfather together with Poppy as godmother?"

"No problem," Severus replied, smirking, as he stepped into the fireplace.

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Twenty-four hours later, Minerva, Rolanda and Harry returned from the Ministry of Magic with a certificate in their hands.

_Name: Harrison Hooch  
Date of Birth: July 13__th__, 1980  
Mother: Lily Snave, deceased  
Father: Harold Hooch, deceased  
Adoptive mother: Rolanda Hooch  
Godmother: Poppy Pomfrey  
Godfather: Severus Snape_

"Congratulation Rolanda and Harrison, you're mother and son now," Minerva said, smiling, as they stepped out of the fireplace in Rolanda's quarters and curiously entered Harry's room that the house-elves had just prepared for the child.

"Thank you, Minnie," Rolanda replied happily, pulling a crying Harry into a bear hug. "Are you all right, sweetie?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I'm just so happy," Harry sobbed.

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During the following twelve months, Rolanda, Severus, Minerva and her good friend Augusta Longbottom took turns home schooling Harrison and Neville together. The two boys became the best friends one could imagine, and by the time they entered Hogwarts, they were inseparable.

When Harry Potter didn't reply to his Hogwarts letter, Dumbledore sent Hagrid to enquire; however, the half giant came back to Hogwarts with the news that the Dursleys had lost Harry in Mallorca during the previous summer, causing Dumbledore to become extremely angry. The Headmaster paid the Dursleys a visit, and while his colleagues wondered what might have happened to Harry's relatives, the Daily Prophet reported of three racoons living in the garden of Harry Potter's former home a few days later.

_**Epilogue – First of September, 1991**_

Harrison stood next to Neville in front of the Head table in the Great Hall, waiting for Professor McGonagall to call his name. '_I just hope Neville and I will be sorted into the same House_,' he thought, 'I _don't care into which House we'll be sorted though. The four Heads of House are all very nice_.'

"Harrison Hooch," Minerva's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he quickly stumbled forward, allowing the Gryffindor Head to place the Hat on his head.

'_Hmm, that's difficult. You'd fit everywhere_,' a small voice penetrated his mind, causing the boy to think back, '_Could you put me together with Neville, please?_'

'_We'll see_,' the Hat replied and shouted into the Hall, "Hufflepuff."

Under huge applause, Harrison happily trailed to the Hufflepuff table, smiling happily as Neville took the seat next to him a few minutes later. '_It's great to have a best friend and a real family_,' he thought as he glanced to Neville and then to the Head table, from where Rolanda, Poppy, Severus and Minerva were smiling down at him, each of them in their own, specific way.

**The End**

_

* * *

I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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